STELLAR Shine Awards 2016: The Winners!

The STELLAR Shine Awards 2016 are done and dusted for another year, with a whole heap of fabulous ladies for their achievements across ten categories, including Best Influencer, Best TV Presenter and Best Actress.

STELLAR editor Kirstie McDermott and MC Tara Flynn handed out this year’s awards in front of an (impeccably dressed) audience at Farrier & Draper, and here’s who took home the prizes

Best DesignerChupi Sweetman
Scouted by Topshop after just one year in college, Chupi spent six years in “fast fashion” before taking the leap to start her own jewellery range. “Every piece I make has a story, it’s where the magic is,” she says.

Best AuthorLouise McSharry
Beating cancer, getting married, welcoming her first child and publishing her book, Fat Chance: It’s been a very busy two years for 2fm presenter-turned-author Louise McSharry, and we were delighted to honour her hard work, determination and unflappable nature with a Shine Award.

Best SingerWyvern Lingo
This year’s Best Singer award went to not one but three fierce females: Karen Cowley, Saoirse Duane, Caoimhe Barry, a.k.a Wyvern Lingo. The Bray trio have three EPs under their belt to date, and they’ve supported Hozier and James Vincent McMorrow among other big names. Catch them in Galway’s Roisin Dubh on November 26th, Cyprus Avenue Cork on November 27 and The Button Factory in Dublin on Dec 3.

Best ActressLorna Quinn
TV, stage and film: there’s nothing this Irish actress doesn’t excel at. She’s recently finished a run in The Importance of Being Earnest at Dublin’s Gate Theatre, plus a role as Mrs. McLeod in RTE’s Rebellion. Her film Dare To Be Wild had its Irish premiere last month.

Best Sports StarAnnalise Murphy
Dublin native Annalise Murphy has been competing (and winning) in national and international sailing championships for over a decade, but she became a household name this year when she took home two silver medals at the Rio Olympics.

Best InfluencerRosemary Mac Cabe
Blogger, writer and Snapchatter Rosemary Mac Cabe is one of the few influencers out there really telling it like it is. Her no-bullsh*t attitude to all things fitness, mental health and fashion-related makes thousands of followers tune in across all platforms every day.

Best Radio PresenterLottie Ryan
She’s on the airwaves from 6am each weekend morning with 2fm’s Early Early Breakfast Show, and is in studio dishing out entertainment news on Breakfast Republic, The Nicky Byrne Show and The Eoghan McDermott Show every weekday too. Whew! We’re delighted to be honouring Lottie’s hard work and brilliant on-air presence with a Shine Award.

Best TV PresenterCassie Stokes
After leaving TV3’s sister channel 3e four years go to to work for Entertainment Tonight in Toronto, Cassie returned to Irish soil – and the TV3 studios – earlier this year to join the Xposé crew. “Things just fall into place and work out,” she told STELLAR back in September – and we’re inclined to agree.

Best FounderAndrea Horan
Andrea Horan’s nail salon Tropical Popical was Dublin’s best kept secret, until one of her customers – Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan to be exact – started talking. And by “started talking,” we mean raving about it repeatedly on The Ellen Show. She might have a wait list for appointments as long as her arm, but Andrea’s still as down to earth as ever.

Role Model 2016Elva Carri
Elva set up Girl Crew back in 2014 as a way to gather new friends for a night out when she found herself at a loose end. These days, there are over 22,000 members in 44 cities and counting worldwide, and Facebook recently flew Elva and her co-founders to its Palo Alto HQ to tell their story as part of the social network’s 12 birthday celebrations.

Special Award for 2016: ActivismOrla Tinsley
Orla has been one of the lead campaigners in the fight to make the Cystic Fibrosis drug Orkambi more widely available to sufferers here, and we’re proud to honour her with a Special Award for Activism.